Homemade Yard Deterrents for Cats

It may look cute, but that cat can cause serious damage to your garden.

They may be cute and cuddly, but cats can be destructive in your yard because they see no difference between a bed of soft soil and a litter box. Keeping cats out humanely requires deterring them from destructive behavior, and you don't need to buy expensive products to do so. Homemade feline deterrents can help save your garden from digging cats.

Chicken Wire

Chicken wire is not just for chickens. You can lay it down in your garden beds and cover it with a light layer of mulch to prevent cats from digging in the bed. The texture of the chicken wire is uncomfortable for cats to walk on, and the holes in the wire prevent cats from digging in the soil.

Citrus

Cats have sensitive noses, and they dislike the odor of citrus oil. The highest concentration of citrus oil is found in the rind. Ron Smith, a horticulturist from North Dakota State University, recommends coarsely chopping up lemon, orange or other citrus peels in a blender and sprinkle them in your garden beds once a week until you no longer see cats coming around. After that time, you can usually stop the citrus treatment because the local cats will have learned to stay out of your garden.

Peppers

Just as cats do not like citrus, they are also sensitive to chile peppers. Try sprinkling cayenne powder around your garden, but don't do it on a windy day or the pepper could blow into your eyes, which is very irritating. The City of Berkeley animal shelter also recommends pipe tobacco or coffee grounds to use in your garden as feline deterrents.

Stakes

Wooden stakes placed at 8-inch intervals in your garden create obstacles that discourage cats from entering the planting area. Some find that these stakes detract from the appearance of the garden, though. One "Fine Gardening" magazine reader submitted a project to the magazine that turned the stakes into garden art. The reader wove natural sticks together to create a barrier around the edge of a large planter. It also made the planter look better than an empty pot until the plant growing in it sprouted.

Mulch

The mulch you are using may be attracting cats rather than repelling them. If you use fine-textured mulch that feels like kitty litter, the cats in your neighborhood will not be able to tell the difference between the two. Change your mulch to a coarse mulch with a rough texture. River rocks placed atop the bare patches of dirt in your garden serve the same purpose.

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Not only have I been an Internet content writer, but I also have experience teaching math, science, English and social studies on the high school level. This breadth of knowledge deepens my understanding of many topics and enables me to convey information in an easy to comprehend format. By drawing upon my experience and knowledge of various subjects, I bring a different perspective to any writing assignment I approach.